Johnson County Board of Supervisors wants to further explore battery powered trains along CRANDIC line

IOWA CITY — The Johnson County Board of Supervisors has expressed its preference for exploring a three-year pilot program that would establish battery-powered passenger trains on the CRANDIC line to connect North Liberty and Iowa City.

Several Johnson County communities have spent the last decade looking into various public transit options that would use the CRANDIC line.

The most recent proposals include a $90 million Bus Rapid Transit system and a battery-powered train line from Pennsylvania-based Pop-Up Metro that would cost an estimated $5.7 million to establish and an additional $3.7 million in annual operating costs.

The Board of Supervisors is the first entity in the county to informally state which option it would like to work toward.

Next week the board will consider adoption of a resolution announcing its intention to further explore Pop-Up Metro trains. The board has not pledged any funding, nor would the resolution be binding in any way.

“My intentions in bringing this forward is to force that conversation, not only among ourselves, but with our peer municipalities and with the university and UIHC,” Supervisor Jon Green said of the decision to pursue Pop-Up Metro or a Bus Rapid Transit system.

A draft of the proposed resolution calls for the board to send letters to the University of Iowa and cities along the CRANDIC line asking for them to adopt similar resolutions or express a preferred option by Feb. 28, 2025.

Implementation of the Pop-Up Metro trains or any other form of public transit on the CRANDIC line would likely need numerous Johnson County entities to collaborate.

Exactly how that collaboration could occur still is to be determined, though the Board of Supervisors has said the county will likely not be the managing entity of any public transit option.

The groups also would need to work with CRANDIC to secure the right of way on the tracks, which may cost additional dollars.

Battery-powered trains would be part of three-year pilot program

The battery-powered trains would be part of a three-year pilot program, where Pop-Up Metro would lease the trains and equipment to regional entities. There would be an option to buy the trains after the leasing period.

The full leasing kit from Pop-Up Metro would include the trains, charging infrastructure, temporary ADA compliant platforms, training and other maintenance. Local entities would need to employ drivers.

The line would connect Penn Street in North Liberty to Burlington Street in Iowa City, but specific stops, as well as service times and the exact route could all be negotiated with Pop-Up Metro.

The leasing period would serve as a live study to measure ridership and community interest before investing in a permanent transit system.

Supervisors V Fixmer-Oraiz, Lisa Green-Douglass and Green all firmly support looking further into the trains, with the three-year pilot as one of the main reasons behind their support.

“This is actually a study in real time because it takes that conceptual data, people saying they would use it, but then you would actually get real usage and ridership,” said Green-Douglass.

Supervisor Royceann Porter said she had no opinion on the matter.

The chair of the board, Rod Sullivan, said he isn’t completely sold on pursuing the trains but will support the preference of the rest of the board.

“I'm strongly in favor of us doing something, whether it's the train or the bus, I don't feel as strongly there,” said Sullivan.

This past summer about two dozen greater Iowa City area and county officials, including members of the Board of Supervisors, traveled to Rock Hill Furnace, Pa. — about an hour south of State College — to view the trains.

The Class 230 Battery Electric Multiple Unit train set operates on a set of rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries.

The trains have been remanufactured from Metro Cammell D78 cars that ran on the London Underground District Line. The rail cars have been rebuilt with modern safety and braking equipment as well as a modernized interior.

Each two-car train set has capacity for 194 passengers and can reach speeds up to 60 mph. The trains also have Wi-Fi and HVAC systems.

Pop-up Metro has said that the company is able to implement the trains in a matter of months.

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Regional collaboration across Johnson County

Elected officials and other civic leaders throughout the county have been working together throughout the exploration of public transit options on the CRANDIC line.

The Bus Rapid Transit feasibility study, which calls for a $90 million system, is the most recent in a series of five studies completed over the last 10 years looking at the potential for regional public transit along the 27-mile CRANDIC freight line.

Iowa City, North Liberty, Coralville, Johnson County, the University of Iowa and the Municipal Planning Organization of Johnson County all contributed to paying for the recently completed Bus Rapid Transit feasibility study, which cost $250,000.

CRANDIC recently received more than $19 million in federal funds for railroad tie replacements along the 56-mile stretch between Cedar Rapids and Hills.

The Pop-up Metro trains could use the existing tracks, while the Bus Rapid Transit system calls for removing the existing train tracks, paving over them and adding adjacent bike trails.

Kent Ralston, executive director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County, said he plans to give a presentation to stakeholders about both the Bus Rapid Transit study and the Pop-Up Metro trains. The transit options also will be discussed at January’s joint entities meeting, which brings together city and county officials from throughout Johnson County.

Comments: megan.woolard@thegazette.com